Imagine a world where the government has set up a sort of weird game where a bunch of teens are sent to a remote location and are given a single, simple task. Kill everyone else. No, you aren't living in The Hunger Games. This is real (well, not really, but it sounds better that way).

Every year, one class of kids is sent to a secret location, given a backpack full of supplies, survival tools and a random weapon. The kids, of course, don't know what's going on; they believe they are on a simple field trip, but they awaken to find explosive collars around their necks and are sent out with instructions to kill each other. If they enter a specified forbidden zone, BOOM! If no kids are killed in any 24 hour period, BOOM!

While the book talks about all the students, its focus is on Shuya and his search for his secret girlfriend Noriko. Don't worry, it doesn't turn into a touchy-feely story, except when the touching is to kill and the feeling is pain.

Originally published in Japanese, this book was quickly adapted into a Japanese movie and a manga, both of which are a bit on the violent side, though the violence is only really extreme because all of the characters are teens. But then, so it is in The Hunger Games.